Show HN: XpanXn – chat designed for how conversations work (opens in new tab)

(xpanxn.com)

7 pointsphumbe5y ago3 comments

3 comments

Hey everyone, my name is Peter and I developed XpanXn ("Expansion") after wondering if instant messaging could better mimic real-life conversations if it were designed more like a mind-map.

XpanXn is an instant messaging app where your conversation is not limited to the vertical direction; it can expand in the horizontal direction to isolate different conversation topics being discussed simultaneously. Along with redesigning the dynamics of instant messaging, XpanXn also offers better privacy with no third-party data mining. You're the customer, not the product.

My intent is for this to be a minimum viable product. There's quite a bit of refinement needed to get XpanXn to realize its full potential and match the features we've come to expect from instant messaging apps.

I hope you'll give XpanXn a try -- no account needed. I'll be standing by to answer questions, and feedback is much appreciated!

bruceb5y ago

Put more effort in to the demo so we can see a real life example of how it would be useful.

mattbgates5y ago

It is very clever idea but i do agree with bruceb. You want MVP, but definitely spend more time on the demo. Me clicking on something and seeing an image of it negates and doesn't inspire me at all with your call to action to sign up.

You should be setting up a demo like letting me have a conversation with a bot.

Bot: hello there, how are you today?

  -> Me: [any answer really]

  -> Bot: I know we didn't finish this conversation, but can you tell me more about [any answer really]?

Bot: did you know this is similar to Slack's threads?

-> Me: No I did not know that.

-> Bot: Well now you do. Check out more features.

-> Me: Yeah this is so cool.

-> Bot: I'm glad you knew about it.

Bot: How's work today?

-> Me: Good.

-> Bot: That is good. Work is okay here too.

-> Bot: I know I started another conversation before finishing this one, but would you consider using it for work?

Bot: Do you have any pets?

-> Me: [any answer]

-> Bot: That's cool if you prefer, as I do prefer [any answer] myself.

Bot: You know, I built this project during the quarantine of COVID-19. Are you working on anything?

-> Me: Oh wow. I'm not working on anything. [any answer really]

-> Bot: I'm still adding more features to it. Do you have any suggestions or are you ready to sign up?

Something like that would probably suffice.

I know me and... everyone I know who is more than a 1-dimensional character in my life meaning we have more than just "hi how are you" conversations discuss multiple topics and sometimes I have to say, "regarding the above... " or "we were talking about it earlier, but didn't finish..."

Anyways, I hope this helps you, and I am completely validating your idea. Even the price... I'd suggest a free version with limits if that is something you'd consider, or just a trial demo might suffice. I'm a believe in some freemium to an extent, but thats just me.

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